A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood novel Chapter 103

Chapter One Hundred & Three 

Chapter One Hundred & Three 

The ground came crashing towards me as I fell roughly down, unable to cushion the fall. All I could do was accept what had happened and feebly cover the wound at my gut; a futile dream of survival pushing me on. 

A dream I knew would die as quickly as I did. 

“Aria,” I heard Aleric yell, apparently having shifted back. 

My breathing was shallow as my body started to become numb to the pain; a coldness slowly spreading through me. 

...It wouldn‘t be much longer. 

“Hey, there,” I said weakly. 

A small smile crept to my lips as I looked up at the man I loved. 

His face was wrought with panic, his eyes holding so much fear in them. And yet it was his wound that drew my attention the most. There were signs of infection on the skin, surrounding where it had been split open again. Since Thea had no intention of Aleric living for long, it made sense she didn‘t have him properly treated. He needed to get to the hospital soon. 

“You... You should really... get that looked at,” I huffed out. 

“Are you insane? You‘re the one you should be worried about right now,” he yelled back. “What you did was so stupidly reckless, Aria. Why do something so senseless? Why....” 

I knew it wasn‘t me he was actually angry at, despite his words. He was just scared because things were ending this way 

I wheezed at the air, finding each breath slowly harder to take than the last, but managed to still speak. 

“I did it... to save you,” I whispered. “...I did it... because I love you.” 1 

His teeth gritted as he furiously wiped at his face, failing to completely hide the evidence of tears there. A sight I never thought I would ever see in my life. Seeing him so suddenly vulnerable only made the situation feel more real. 

That this was it. This was goodbye. 

Knowing there was nothing further I could do to stop my bleeding, I brought my hand up and cupped his ‘cheek instead, feeling the warmth from his skin against mine. 

“Hey... it‘s okay...,” I soothed. “I always knew... this day would come and... I just want you to know... that I don‘t regret it. You shouldn‘t... either.” 

“Fuck, Aria,” he growled and grabbed my hand tightly to lean into, covering his eyes. “I don‘t know what I‘m going to do without you. I–I... I need you.” 

I would have laughed at that if I could have, knowing that he would be perfectly fine without me. Aleric would live on and become the Alpha destiny had chosen for him, I had no doubt about that. I was just happy to have finally met the man he was always meant to be. The man I was meant to have spent my life with. 

Without him, none of this would have been possible. It was only because of Aleric that I was able to fight back against Thea. Only he believed in me when I‘d lost my mind, and only he managed to help me see who I could still become despite my condition. 

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Coapter One Hundred & Three 

“You don‘t... need me...,” I said, ‘You‘ve got it... backwards.” 

“Don‘t say that.” 

“Aria?” another voice then interjected, though further away. 

I recognised it as Cai‘s immediately. 

His face soon appeared next to me, trying to look down with a similar expression to Aleric‘s, but having trouble focusing. It seemed that Thea‘s attack on him was still giving him grief, the effects of the blinding still evident 

“Aria... I’m sorry,” he said. “I–I couldn‘t see. I didn‘t know what happened until it was too late.” 

But I just weakly shook my head, knowing there was nothing he could have done anyway. This had ended i n the exact way I‘d predicted. It was the most probable outcome. 

xact 

1. me. 

“It‘s fine... you have nothing… to be sorry for.” 

He then started trying to shift me, hoping to maybe pick me up, but the jostles to my body only sent fresh waves of pain through me. Small whimpers left my lips at the movement, but I didn‘t have the strength to push him away. 

“We need to get you to a hospital,” he said desperately. “We need to get you help.” 

However, Aleric then quickly intervened and pushed him back. 

“Stop...,” he said sharply, still keeping Cai at bay with one hand to his shoulder. “It‘s done. We can‘t... she won‘t make it. You’re only going to make her last moments worse.” 

“...But… but this is my fault. 1-I didn‘t… I didn‘t do enough,” Cai said, his face contorting with pain. “I can‘t let her die like this.” 

But Aleric‘s grip on Cai only tightened and instead pulled him closer, forcing him to concentrate. An attempt at getting him to calm down. 

“It‘s our fault. Our burden to share,” he clarified. “Or everyone‘s, if you want to be more accurate. Aria sacrificed herself for all of us to survive. She lived through two lifetimes of hell, fighting for that very thing. Let her final moments be peaceful. She more than deserves that at least.” 

So cold now. 

I was feeling so goddamn cold. 

The kind of feeling where you want to curl up next to a fireplace, wrapped up tightly in a fluffy blanket and just take a nap 

I could... close my eyes for a bit, right? 

Wouldn‘t that be okay? 

Or maybe I should try to hold off for just a little longer.. 

Cai began shaking and grabbed onto Aleric in turn, the two needing each other for support. I was glad to see evidence of a bond forming, feeling relieved that maybe they would continue to get closer. There was no worse outcome ihan if my death were to start a war between them. To see them die at each other‘s hands would only make my death in vain. 

A light then shone brightly to my left, stealing my attention from the two men I adored. A light heralding the appearance of someone I knew all too well. 

She walked towards me slowly, her gaze watching me as I laid on the deathbed of her own devising. 

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This blood was her blood. This new body only borrowed for her. 

A cruel, merciless master. 

“...Selene,” I rasped out in greeting. 

She stood over me without an ounce of expression or concern for her public attendance. An odd sight given her aversion for interference. 

However, it was something quickly explained once Aleric and Cai began looking around, trying to see who I was speaking to. 

It was confirmation of what I already knew about her natural laws; that she could not interfere with the living... only the dead. 

“...Is... it... time?” | continued, struggling to speak. 

In reply, she simply nodded her head, crouching down beside me. Even in my dying breath, I could feel the effect of her presence. Feel the weight of her aura around me. 1 

“... Time to be at peace, child,” she whispered soothingly. 

And with that, she touched my forehead, a wave of tranquillity spreading through me as she did so. An invitation urging me to let go, to leave behind the pain and finally be free. 

There was no compromise to be made here though. No time for questions or arguments. I simply could only oblige the request, greedily caving into the need for an escape. 

...And everything went black. 

With one final yawn, I left my room, walking down the stairs to the only place I wanted to be right now. 

“What are you reading?” I asked softly, standing in the doorway of the living area. 

It was gently raining outside, the sound of the drops hitting the roof in a soothing way. The clouds outside were also darkening the sky enough that, once again, I couldn‘t be sure what time it was. 

“Nothing really,” he answered. “Did you have a good sleep?” 

I could feel it now. That feeling of déjà vu, freezing me as I tried to chase down the memory it stemmed from inside. 

“Well, it‘s raining and there isn‘t much else to do for entertainment around here...,” Aleric said, speaking like he hadn‘t just noticed me abruptly pause. Almost as though he‘d already known what I was going to say despite me stopping mid–sentence 

“Aleric... I think something is wrong...,” I started, my hand now covering my gut as the pain increased.